Bathing before sleep in the young and in the elderly

In this study we investigated the effects of bathing on the quality of slee p in 30 elderly people (ages 65-83 years) and in 30 young people (ages 17-2 2 years) in their homes. Room temperature did not vary significantly during the nights that data were acquired, ranging from 8 to 12 degrees C. After bathing and at the beginning of sleep, the mean (SE) rectal temperatures of the young and the elderly were 37.8 (0.08) and 37.5 (0.07)degrees C, respe ctively, and were higher by 0.7 (0.13) and 0.6 (0.07)degrees C, respectivel y, than when the subjects had not bathed. At the beginning of the sleep aft er bathing in the young subjects, skin temperature was 32.5 (0.24) and 1.5 (0.34)degrees C higher than when those subjects had not bathed. In the elde rly, however, there were no significant differences in skin temperature wit h and without prior bathing because they used electric blankets during slee p. After bathing, the young people reported "warmth" in their hands and/or legs, while the elderly more often reported "good sleep" or "quickness of f alling asleep". During the first 3 h of sleep, body movements were less fre quent after bathing for both the young and the elderly subjects. The result s suggest that a bath before sleep enhances the quality of sleep, particula rly in the elderly.